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I just got asked this from an old friend from elementary school (!), who I have been able to keep in better touch with thanks to Social Media, Facebook in particular. He, like many others, wonders what the real value in LinkedIn Recommendations are when there are a lot of ”if your rub my back, I’ll rub yours,” recommendations on LinkedIn, which, in my friend’s words, “somewhat limits the credibility of the action”.
Another way of looking at LinkedIn Recommendations is what my old boss once told me. ”You know when someone is looking for a new job when they start receiving lots of Recommendations from ex-colleagues.”
And, to be honest with you, there is a bit of truth to both of the above arguments. But, let me play the devil’s advocate and let’s pretend that LinkedIn did not offer Recommendations. Wouldn’t you like a way to confirm how “real” this person is, to back up the claims that are in his or her profile from a third-party and ideally objective perspective? Well, that’s what Recommendations are for, and I believe that they serve this purpose well.
The danger in an Internet World, as we have been reminded of again by the recent tragic Craig’s List murders, is that people can hide behind their anonymity and do bad things. On LinkedIn, this could mean a fake LinkedIn profile to spam you with or other types of harassment. So LinkedIn, in building a community for professionals, rightfully added the Recommendations feature. I mean, when you ask a friend or someone in your network for a referral for someone, aren’t they giving you a Recommendation for someone in their network? I believe that this was the original spirit of LinkedIn Recommendations and it is bang on.
The problem, then, is not the functionality of these written endoresements, but the potential way in which it can be used or abused. Hey, this is Web 2.0, my friends. We’re talking User-Generated Content here. No one can control this, not even the mighty hand of LinkedIn or Google for that matter;-) That being said, as viewers of this content, we reserve the right to judge the content as we wish. And with that in mind, I would like to offer my three-point advice as to what filters I would use in judging the value of a particular LinkedIn Recommendation:
- Who wrote the recommendation? If it was a colleague it is one thing, but what if it was coming from a CxO position within the company or from a customer or partner? Look at the people writing the recommendation and you will see that there are a lot of professional people who are putting their reputations on the line and thus are not writing a recommendation for everyone out there. In other words, judge a recommendation by the quality of the person writing it.
- What was the relationship of the person that made the recommendation? As LinkedIn is a professional site, an endorsement from someone who used to work or do business with that person should always have greater value than a recommendation from an old friend or networking acquaintance. This is not to say that recommendations from networking acquaintances, of which I have a few myself, are not of value, in that they can indicate that you are a “real” person and can sometimes best describe your attributes in a candid fashion. But because LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals, I believe that those that are involved in a business relationship with the person have the best potential to write the most objective professional recommendation. So I recommend that you also judge a recommendation by the relationship of the person writing it.
- What objective qualities are described in the recommendation? No two recommendations are alike, but there are some great recommendations that can spotlight qualities that go above-and-beyond what the person has written in their own profile. On the other hand, there are recommendations that really mention nothing about the particular qualities of that person. One thing I watch for is are there any qualities mentioned in the recommendation that contradict what the person has written in their own profile? This is a big red flag. So judge a recommendation by the specificness of the qualities mentioned and the consistency with those qualities and the person’s profile.
In an ideal world, LinkedIn Recommendations make someone look more “real” and are a welcome addition to a person’s profile. I always recommend that you get as many recommendations as you can whenever you have a chance…dig your well before you are thirsty and don’t wait until you change jobs to ask for a recommendation! Consider it part of building up your LinkedIn profile. But from the viewing side, so long as you read these endorsements with my suggested filters, you should be able to sort out the “real” from the ”if your rub my back, I’ll rub yours,” recommendations.
AR Morgan Group
Interesting post by @nealschaffer on the value of LinkedIn recommendations. http://ping.fm/SjlN7
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[...] LinkedIn Expert Advice & Insight through Your Questions – A LinkedIn Blog that Goes Beyond the &… placed an observative post today on My Twitter Feed –> Click Here to Follow Me!Here’s a quick excerptI just got asked this from an old friend from elementary school (!), who I have been able to keep in better touch with thanks to Social Media, Facebook in particular. He, like many others, wonders what the real value in LinkedIn Recommendations are when there are a lot of ”if your rub my back, I’ll rub yours,” recommendations on LinkedIn, which, in my friend’s words, “somewhat limits the credibility of the action”.Another way of looking at LinkedIn Recommendations is what my old boss once told [...]
Norman Naylor
I suppose recommendations could be fluffed and faked, but, then again, so can “references”. I, for one, am not going to give you the name and contact information of someone I do not feel would give a positive response to any questions asked.
I really like recommendations, and here is why: They give recruiters and potential employers the ability to really get to know who you are. You know, all the stuff “beyond the resume” that can really indicate a good team player versus someone who is merely technically proficient.
I agree with Neal completely: The usefulness of a recommendation depends on its source. If all of my recommendations came from old fishing buddies, I don’t think anyone would be fooled.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go butter up some former colleagues…
Norman Naylor
I suppose recommendations could be fluffed and faked, but, then again, so can “references”. I, for one, am not going to give you the name and contact information of someone I do not feel would give a positive response to any questions asked.
I really like recommendations, and here is why: They give recruiters and potential employers the ability to really get to know who you are. You know, all the stuff “beyond the resume” that can really indicate a good team player versus someone who is merely technically proficient.
I agree with Neal completely: The usefulness of a recommendation depends on its source. If all of my recommendations came from old fishing buddies, I don’t think anyone would be fooled.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go butter up some former colleagues…
Neal Schaffer
I couldn’t agree with you more Norman! You truly get it! Thanks for enhancing my insight with yours!
oto kiralama
Studies for a long time I’d been really great. We thank you very much
I wish you continued success of the site administrator
oto kiralama
Studies for a long time I’d been really great. We thank you very much
I wish you continued success of the site administrator
Neal Schaffer
Thank you very much Oto! I hope that I can contribute to your success as well!
Tre Critelli
Your post (as usual) was timely as a friend and I were just discussing the value of recommendations on LinkedIn yesterday. The topic was the “requesting” of recommendations from those in your network rather than letting them happen on their own accord. Any thoughts on solicitation of recommendations?
One a somewhat similar issue, in today’s inbox I received a request for an endorsement from someone that I didn’t know (other than via LI), and a “suggestion” of the recommendation I could make was included. While I passed on the offer, I did take a moment to look at his profile and noted more than 25+ recommendations. “Caveat utilitor,” in LI I guess, as no doubt he is not the only one.
Tre Critelli
Your post (as usual) was timely as a friend and I were just discussing the value of recommendations on LinkedIn yesterday. The topic was the “requesting” of recommendations from those in your network rather than letting them happen on their own accord. Any thoughts on solicitation of recommendations?
One a somewhat similar issue, in today’s inbox I received a request for an endorsement from someone that I didn’t know (other than via LI), and a “suggestion” of the recommendation I could make was included. While I passed on the offer, I did take a moment to look at his profile and noted more than 25+ recommendations. “Caveat utilitor,” in LI I guess, as no doubt he is not the only one.
Al
Hi Neil, thanks for your comments on Linkedin and Recommendations. You seem to have studied well the Linkedin program. I am now starting a series of blogs on Linkedin and its Job Searching functions. Perhaps you have some posts or comments on this area. Look forward to seeing them.
Al
http://www.successfulmarketingtools.com/wordpressblog
Al
Hi Neil, thanks for your comments on Linkedin and Recommendations. You seem to have studied well the Linkedin program. I am now starting a series of blogs on Linkedin and its Job Searching functions. Perhaps you have some posts or comments on this area. Look forward to seeing them.
Al
http://www.successfulmarketingtools.com/wordpressblog
Neal Schaffer
Hi Tre,
I am glad to hear that you found the post useful. Yes, I get those same requests for a recommendation every once in a while…I find it pretty bizarre, don’t you? As for the best method of receiving recommendations, I find no problem of soliciting recommendations because if you wait for them they may not happen. One thing you can do is maybe make a few requests a month so that your recommendations hopefully grow at a natural pace. Just tell the people that you want to recommend you that they make up an important part of your LinkedIn profile, and thus will help you gain more business or trust from your customers and/or colleagues. Good luck with it!
- Neal
Neal Schaffer
Hey Al,
Thanks for your comments and I will definitely check out your blog!
Cheers,
Neal
LinkedIn Recommendations: Will You Write Me One? | Windmill Networking
[...] actually wrote about the same subject more than three months ago in my post “Are LinkedIn Recommendations for Real?” And I specifically mentioned that you need to apply filters when reading them: who wrote [...]
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August Cohen
@NealSchaffer Neal, my sentiments exactly. Great post http://windmillnetworking.com/2009/04/23/are-linkedin-recommendations-for-real/
Neal Schaffer
I couldn’t agree with you more Norman! You truly get it! Thanks for enhancing my insight with yours!
Neal Schaffer
Thank you very much Oto! I hope that I can contribute to your success as well!
Neal Schaffer
Hi Tre,
I am glad to hear that you found the post useful. Yes, I get those same requests for a recommendation every once in a while…I find it pretty bizarre, don’t you? As for the best method of receiving recommendations, I find no problem of soliciting recommendations because if you wait for them they may not happen. One thing you can do is maybe make a few requests a month so that your recommendations hopefully grow at a natural pace. Just tell the people that you want to recommend you that they make up an important part of your LinkedIn profile, and thus will help you gain more business or trust from your customers and/or colleagues. Good luck with it!
- Neal
Neal Schaffer
Hey Al,
Thanks for your comments and I will definitely check out your blog!
Cheers,
Neal